ACU Dean of Education, Marie Emmett (centre), with representatives from the Department of Education Early Childhood Development (DEECD) and Barwon South Western Region and the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT).

ACU launches new rural and regional LOTE qualification

The University’s Ballarat Campus (Aquinas) recently launched the new rural and regional partnerships model of the Graduate Diploma in Education (secondary) for languages other than English (LOTE), by signing a memorandum of understanding.

The three-year memorandum between ACU, The Department of Education Early Childhood Development (DEECD), Barwon South Western Region and the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) aims to give participants the qualification needed to register as a teacher in Victorian schools.

Project  Coordinator, ACU lecturer Mellita Jones, said the project stemmed from a difficulty in finding qualified LOTE teachers for rural and regional areas.

“We are aiming to encourage native speakers of different languages, both from Australia and abroad to become qualified LOTE teachers, eligible for registration through VIT,” she said.

Designed around school-based learning, participants are placed in rural and regional schools for at least one  day a week while completing their studies via on-campus intensives, online coursework, and school placement.

“A delivery mode of this kind allows students to study in their local community and gives schools the opportunity to recruit and retain appropriately qualified staff,” Mellita said.